Speak Now
by astradanvers
Summary: Cat's attending a wedding. What's going to happen?


Cat Grant knows many things. She knows her mother barely tolerates her, that her son means the world to her, that people believe she's a tyrant without a heart, that green is the color she looks best in, but above all else she knows the very day she began to fall in love. It started with:

 _Hi, I'm Kara Danvers. It's wonderful to meet you, Ms. Grant._

And it ended with:

 _I will see you at precisely seven Monday morning, Kiera, white mocha soy latte extra hot in hand._

That was five years ago. Now Cat is standing at the back of a church, peeking around the curtains roping off the door. She knows the ushers are giving her dirty looks but she doesn't care, her son is IN the wedding there is no way she'd dream of missing it. Except she has she's dreamed of not being here a hundred times in the past six months, been terrified of it. A hand settles on her shoulder and she turns around to find James Olsen behind her, she tries to smile at him.

"Hello, James," she says quietly, but with a fondness that would never show at the office, as he leans down to press a kiss to her cheek.

"I didn't know if you'd come."

"Carter is one of the bridesmaids," she says with a grin.

"I saw him earlier," James replies before his eyes sweep over her body and then return to her face, studying her and today she is apparently as close to an open book as Cat Grant will ever be. "You're going to do it, aren't you?" It's still a question, meaning he's not positive of the answer but she's sure that he has the percentage of correctness figured out in his head.

"I have no idea what you mean, James," she pats his cheek. "And I know I am very clearly uninvited, since you have been the only usher to approach me but please walk me to my seat."

James smiles, holds out an arm to her, "Of course, Ms. Grant." He seats her in the very middle of the very middle aisle of the church, she stays close to the end of the pew and refuses to move for anyone. "You're going to do it," he says when he passes by again sometime later, "you're going to do it, it's why you wore _that_ dress."

She smiles up at him, "I'm not exactly sure what you think it is I will be doing, James, but I can assure you that I won't."

He nods his head in acceptance but she knows he still believes she'll do it and that he approves, that's the whole point of his continued asking. But now he's just stirred up a fresh batch of memories that blunder their way to the surface of her mind.

 _They're all gathered at Cat's penthouse, how exactly it got to the point where she'd allow a group of her employees and one of them's sister to spend time in her apartment she'll never know but it has. Plus Carter loves them all and they all adore him so how could she deny them this every so often. And she'd never admit it aloud but she enjoys it too, enjoys the laughter that permeates her home whenever they're around. Tonight it's Christmas for all of them, it's actually two days past Christmas and work starts back up tomorrow but who's keeping track._

 _Right now they're about to open up presents, some hubbub of a Secret Santa that left Cat with Alex Danvers and an evil plan. She wonders who pulled her name as she has a gift handed to her that she doesn't remember seeing brought in but then that's part of the secret isn't it. She watches everyone open their gifts around her, smiling when she see Alex open the box with her gift inside and hurriedly close it once more, the whole while glaring at Cat._

 _Finally they all turn their attention to her, "You haven't opened yours, Mom," Carter says from the floor between Kara's body and Alex's legs, much larger pile of presents in front of him than the one from his Secret Santa._

 _She's smiles at him, "I suppose I haven't," she says quietly before slowly opening hers, a little unnerved by all the eyes in the room watching her. It's when she opens the box that she has to hold back a gasp, inside is a beautiful green dress, it has lace as a bodice, a little more see through than she'd normally wear but inside the box as well is a piece of the same color fabric to fit against the bodice and a typed note apologizing for not having already sewed it in. The lace covers the entire dress, she notes when she pulls it from the box. A true smile lingers on her features for the rest of the night until the only two left in her apartment are the Danvers sisters, one asleep on her couch, Carter draped half over her body, and the other happily dancing around Cat's kitchen while she cleans._

 _Cat easily slips up beside her at the sink, "Thank you for the dress," she says confidently before leaning up at the same time she turns Kara's head and presses a kiss to the younger woman's lips._

That was the night she found out Kara and the witless wonder had started dating. Cat can still remember the pleading look in Kara's eyes, on her face, begging her without words to fight for her. She could have won, she could have been with Kara for the last year but she let her pride get in the way of her happiness again.

Glancing to the altar and away from her memories Cat smirks when she sees Witt glaring at her, oh she knows that's not his name but she also knows he doesn't deserve the woman he's supposed to be marrying today. Looking around her she finds the church has quickly filled up, she nods show time.

The music begins to play and one of Witt's cousins or brothers or some other such relation walks Eliza down the aisle. The woman's hand brushes Cat's shoulder as she passes, no one notices or no one cares. After Eliza, Astra is escorted down the aisle by another of the ushers, a faint smile on the reformed villain's lips. She smirks at Cat and brushes her fingers lightly over the other woman's arm, another gesture no one sees or cares to see. Next comes Alex down the aisle, her body covered by a hideous purple dress with two flowers on the bottom of it and a lilac belt at the waist, cut much too short. Alex shoots a pleading look at Cat, as if begging her to end her misery. Cat remembers the night before when Alex had come to collect Carter so he could spend the night at Kara's and not have to get up even earlier.

 _The knock on the door draws Cat away from cooking her dinner for one. She pulls the door open and smiles at the dark haired woman on the other side, "Hey, Alex," she says almost sadly while motioning the younger woman inside. "Carter, Alex is here."_

" _Be done with my homework in fifteen minutes," Carter calls back and Cat sighs._

" _Take your time, dude, we have time," Alex calls back to him while following Cat into the kitchen. "We need to talk," she says seriously._

" _Alex," Cat heaves out a sigh._

" _She loves you, Cat, you love her. Why is this so hard?"_

" _Because she's getting married tomorrow, Alexandra."_

" _Don't Alexandra me because you're scared, Catherine." Alex reaches out to the woman she's come to call friend, turns her around and finds tears on her cheeks, "You are both hurting so badly and neither of you will do anything about it. And I don't know how to help this time, Cat, I don't know how to help my baby sister and I don't know how to help my best friend." She gently brushes away Cat's tears, "That terrifies me because it means there may not be a way. But there is a way, one of you has to be brave and Kara may be a superhero but when it comes to matters of the heart she is anything but."_

" _What if it blows up in my face?" Cat whispers out, "I can't," she shakes her head, "I won't lose her completely."_

" _This won't blow up in your face, Cat, trust me."_

 _Cat nods, "Ok. I'm not saying I will but okay, I'll think about it."_

" _That's all I ask." She turns to the hallway, "Come on, Cart, we're gonna be late."_

" _How much did you bribe him with?" Cat asks._

" _Twenty," Alex tells her honestly._

" _I offered him fifty," Cat says with a slight pout having intended for her son to be in the kitchen when Alex arrived._

" _I want you to be happy," Carter says from the doorway. "Aunt Alex offered me twenty, I did it for free." He moves forward, presses a kiss to his mother's cheek, "You deserve happiness, Mom, more than most. Don't let it slip away." He kisses her cheek again and hugs her tight, "I love you."_

 _She sees them to the door, watching them leave before she turns back around, her dinner finished but forgotten as she walks to her bedroom and opens her closet. She fights her way to the back, finds the dress bag with the green tag on it and pulls it out. Hanging it on the door she pulls the zipper down and smiles when green lace comes into sight. It won't take her long to have the bodice plate in place._

Cat's lips twitch and Alex's expression morphs into something that is a mix of excited and nervous. Turning back Cat shows little emotion as a lone groomsman makes his way down the aisle and over to Witt's side. When Carter appears in the doorway, holding the hand of James and Lucy's eighteen month old little girl, Cat smiles. Halfway down the aisle, Maria decides to sit and without missing a beat Carter effortlessly scoops her up, making her giggle and all of the church goers aww, before continuing down the aisle, a knowing smirk thrown his mother's way.

Then that dreaded song starts to play and Cat turns to the back of the church just like everyone else. When the doors open Cat's breath catches, Kara is beautiful even if the dress is completely wrong for her. Why in the hell had Alex let her go with a mermaid dress? Because Kara hated them and yet had wanted that and only that for her wedding dress, Cat remembers that conversation with Alex.

Kara's eyes scan the church and she finds Cat easily enough, her eyes devouring the vision Cat makes in the green dress Kara herself gave the other woman. Clark has to tug lightly at Kara's hand to get her to move and she moves her gaze swiftly from Cat to Witt. When they pass her, Cat's hand is squeezed lightly by Clark and she smiles, remembering how she had been the one to "find" Kara's long lost cousin and reunite them. Lois Lane had been a part of the package but Cat, and everyone else, had survived.

Everyone watches as Clark places Kara's hand in that of the witless wonder, presses a kiss to her cheek and whispers something in her ear that makes a tear slide down her cheek. When everyone is seated once more, Cat's fingers begin to tap a beat against her leg. Her toes begin to tap it too inside her shoe and she knows she probably looks a little green around the edges.

"Dearly beloved," her cue is fast approaching, "we are gathered here today," Cat's not sure if she wants him to slow down or speed up, "to join this man and this woman, in holy matrimony." He spills on and on for a few moments, "Is there anyone present," Cat draws in a deep breath, "who knows reason why these two should not be married?"

For a single moment silence reigns, Cat feels eyes on her, James, Lucy, Eliza, Carter, Alex, Astra, Lois, Clark, all of them. Slowly she rises from her seat, "I do," she says firmly. Several gasps fill the room even as Kara and Witt spin around. "I'm not one of those people who bursts into these kinds of occasions, in fact, I rarely go to them at all." She moves out into the aisle because it feels like the right thing to do, "But today I had to come, today I had to stop this." Her eyes rest solely on Kara, too afraid to look at the other people in the church, and yes she's admitting that she is absolutely terrified of what is about to happen. "For so long I've stood by and watched you love the wrong person because I was too afraid, too filled with pride or fear to tell you that I loved you too. You gave me a chance and I walked away," she says, thinking of that night in her kitchen when Kara had waited for too long moments, silently begging Cat to fight and instead Cat walked away. "I've never regretted anything more in my life. You are the best thing that has ever come into my life apart from my son. Please, Kara," she finally says in a very near whisper as a single tear rolls down her cheek, "please give me another chance."

"You-" Witt starts but Kara places a hand on his arm.

Cat isn't watching them but the rest of the church is as Kara turns to face him, holding her engagement ring up between them, "I can't," she whispers to him. Except Cat hears and believes that's her answer as she starts walking away. "Cat," Kara calls but the older woman doesn't turn. The sound of ripping fabric is what stops Cat in her tracks minutes before strong arms scoop her up from the ground, "You silly woman," Kara says, her forehead pressed to Cat's, "how could I ever marry him when I'm in love with you?"

Leaning in Cat kisses Kara with everything that she has, her hands weaving their way into Kara's hair, knocking her veil loose and leaving it abandoned while Kara lowers her back to a standing position. "I love you," Cat whispers to Kara before a tall gangly boy collides with them.

Kara smiles at Cat, "I love you too," she presses a kiss to Cat's lips once more then Carter's cheek, "and you," she tells him.

The three of them walk down the aisle of the church, Witt's family glaring at them while Kara's beams. Alex is behind them she knows and she knows that when Alex reaches Astra, she'll snag Eliza who'll pull Clark and Lois along who will in turn pull James and Lucy along. They'll all converge on the penthouse, it's an unspoken rule when something life changing happens. She smiles, leans her head against Kara's shoulder as she glances down at Kara's now tailless dress and laughs. This is where she belongs.


End file.
